Train to Vajpayee's village 16 years after he laid foundation

Agra: A train connecting Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ancestral village Bateshwar with Etawah was today flagged off, 16 years after the former prime minister had laid the foundation stone for this project.

The train was flagged off by Union Minister of State for railways Manoj Sinha and union MoS for human resources Ram Shankar Katheria this afternoon.

Sinha said that the government has made big investments for accelerated growth of the railway network and that the rail and goods traffic has increased substantially.

"In five years, the outlay will cross Rs 8 lakh crores," he said. The Union minister said that all the important stations in the country will be provided with broad band and made wifi enabled connection.

Local BJP leaders said that the new train will open new avenues for development in the backward region bordering Chambal.